A senior editor is leaving a regional publisher to take a top national news job.

Luke Jacobs will leave Reach plc to join Sky News as chief sub-editor in its digital team.

Luke, pictured, has most recently served as South East regional editor with oversight of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire.

He has previously held other senior roles with Reach and its forerunner Trinity Mirror, including launch editor of Kent Live,

Luke has also been responsible for a number of new initiatives aimed at increasing the diversity of both the publisher’s newsrooms and its readership.

Speaking to HTFP, he said: “I’m really looking forward to this next opportunity in my career after several very enjoyable years at Reach.

“At Kent Live we brought renewed competition and a fresh approach to the market when it came to our digital journalism, and more broadly across the South-East region carved out a voice for underrepresented communities in our storytelling.

“I was fortunate to work alongside some creative and talented people and I wish them all the best.”

Luke began his career in 2007 as a trainee reporter on the Surrey Advertiser and was later promoted to chief reporter.

From 2011 to 2013 he moved to Archant to work as a reporter in London, before serving as digital publisher at Local World, based in Chelmsford.

Luke later became digital development editor before taking on the role of brands editor for Kent in 2016, where he had overall responsibility for Kent Live, the Kent and Sussex Courier, Dover Express, Sevenoaks Chronicle, Folkestone Herald, Isle of Thanet Gazette and the Canterbury Times.

He added Sussex Live to his portfolio in 2020 and has since taken up the group-wide role in the South-East.

Luke also created the Untold Stories newsletter for Reach readers and customers from underrepresented communities.